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Reviews
Here are the
show's weekly reviews of theatrical releases and DVD picks. The
films are listed alphabetically by title. Titles beginning with
numerical values (i.e. 16 Blocks) are listed in the Numbers
section. Foreign films are listed according to the American title
under which they were marketed.
K
Kicking
and Screaming
Kill Bill
King Arthur (2004)
King Kong (2005)
The Kingdom (2007)
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut
Kinsey
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
The Kite Runner
Knocked Up
Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu Panda
Kicking
and Screaming
Directed by: Jesse Dylan
Premise: A soccer-dad
(Will Ferrell) takes over the coaching duties of his son’s team and
gradually becomes corrupted by the desire to win.
What Works: The film is
at its best with Mike Ditka playing himself as Ferrell’s assistant
coach. Will Ferrell is again a likeable buffoon, the type of character
he excels at playing. As his mild-mannered behavior gives way to a
win-at-all-costs attitude, the film gets better and funnier. There is an
interesting relationship between Ferrell and his very competitive father
(Robert Duvall), who coaches an opposing team.
What Doesn’t: The
relationship between father and son does not really go anywhere and
keeps recycling the same scene over and over again. The film is very
predictable, using a formula seen in many kids-sports films from The
Bad News Bears to The
Mighty Ducks but the kids in this film are not nearly as
colorful or as interesting. There are opportunities for this story to go
off in new directions but the film never uses them.
Bottom
Line: Kicking and Screaming is a likeable film but its not a
great film. Fans of Ferrell’s shtick and the Chicago Bears will enjoy
it.
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Kill
Bill
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Premise: A former
assassin (Uma Thurman) awakens from a coma and begins a violent rampage
as she exacts revenge on those who betrayed her. The film is divided
into two volumes.
What Works: Kill Bill
combines colorful characters, nonlinear storytelling, and cinematic
allusions typical of Tarantino’s other work, but this film jettison's
extraneous dialogue in favor of more cinematic modes of storytelling.
The result is an arrow point of a film that, despite totaling more than
three and a half hours in length, manages to hold the audience's rapt
attention. The
first volume is heavy on movement and action but light on story and
character development. It establishes the tone and the non-linear
arrangement of its sequences solves what would otherwise be an
unbalanced narrative. The
second volume focuses less on action and more on character
development. Taken as a
whole the film has a completeness and a symmetry that makes it a
narrative marvel.
What Doesn’t: The first
volume of Kill Bill is so light on character development and
takes its violence, however stylized, to such a level that some audience
members might be too sickened.
DVD extras: The DVDs are
packaged separately. Each has a short featurette on the making of the
film, and trailers. Volume 1 includes musical performances by The
5, 6,7, and 8s. Volume 2 includes a deleted scene and footage
from the premiere.
Bottom Line: Kill Bill
is Tarantino's masterwork, at least so far. The film features many of
his best inclinations (snappy dialogue, sympathetic villains, narrative
complexity) and minimizes his worst ones (long rambling dialogue
sequences, lack of substance).
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King
Arthur (2004)
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Premise: Purports to be
the true story that the legend of King Arthur was based upon. Arthur is
the leader of a group of knights who are indentured servants to the Holy
Roman Empire. Before they can be released, the knights must complete one
last mission.
What Works: There have
been a lot of these kinds of sword and shield epics with big battle
scenes. This one has better choreography than most. King Arthur takes
on the issues of war and what kinds of motives the average soldier can
take solace in. There are a number of debates between Arthur and
Lancelot about what their bloodshed has meant and this gives the film a
little more depth.
What Doesn’t:
Unfortunately, the debates about the purposes of fighting don’t really
go anywhere. In the end it is claimed that the English are united in a
common struggle. What that struggle is for is never quite clear.
Although the acting is pretty good, a lot of the characters are
flat and are not given much to do between fights.
Bottom Line: Fans of Braveheart
and other medieval war films will want to check it out. The filmmakers
noticeably stay away from gore to achieve a PG-13 rating and this
reveals that perhaps some other epics have relied on extreme gore over
actual substance.
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King
Kong (2005)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Premise: A remake of the 1933
film. A film crew travels to an unknown island and discovers a giant
ape.
What Works: As a loud,
fun, rollercoaster of a film, this version of King Kong is among
the greats. What the filmmakers have constructed is a tribute to a
classic film. They have maintained the adventure, the romance, and the
themes of the original and given them a huge booster shot. For instance,
the film repeats some of the dialogue and the music from the 1933 film
but places or rephrases it in new ways and in new places. This remake is
able to improve on some of the original film’s weaker points, namely
the way the original story lags before the characters get to the island.
In this version, the travel is used to complicate some of the character
relationships and give them some development before the characters are
put in peril. The strongest human performance is by Naomi Watts as Ann
Darrow but the star of the show is the computer-generated Kong (Andy
Serkis). In the ongoing argument about the artistic integrity of
computer-generated characters in film, King Kong makes a great
case in CGI’s defense.
What Doesn’t: The film
gets a little too sentimental at moments, using one too many dewy-eyed
gazes between Kong and Ann. This is especially true in a completely out
of place ice sequence in New York. For the level of production, some of
the CGI work involving the dinosaurs and the water around the island
looks really poor.
Bottom Line: King Kong
is a great love story with some really great action set pieces. For all
its flaws, the film delivers on both the romance and the action and is a
worthy remake of the original film.
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The
Kingdom (2007)
Directed by: Peter Berg
Premise: After an American housing facility
in Saudi Arabia is bombed, an FBI response team works with Saudi
officials to try and find those responsible.
What Works: The Kingdom combines
elements of multiple genres, including espionage and political
thrillers, police procedurals, and the Western to create a hybrid that
presents familiar scenarios in ways that are fresh and new. The film
moves along briskly and the final act of the story is shot and edited
extraordinarily well. The style of the film shows influence of producer
Michael Mann, director of Heat
and Collateral,
but director Berg puts his own stamp on the material, conveying
complicated expository information in effective and concise ways. The
performances are also very well done, especially Jamie Foxx as team
leader Ronald Fleury and Chris Cooper as explosives expert Grant Sykes,
but the true standout actor of the film is Ashraf
Barhom as Saudi Colonel Faris Al Ghazi. Although the civilian
deaths cement the gravity of the story early in the film, the ongoing
relationship between Fleury and Al Ghazi sustains the emotional center
and gives the film more substance, allowing the Westerner and Middle
Easterner to overcome their differences and combine talents to combat
terror. This relationship is a microcosm of Western—Mid-East relations
and The Kingdom is able to delve into the subject, addressing
some of the complicated issues on the Saudi side and the film admirably
attempts to give more texture to the Muslim characters and their culture
than is usually afforded to them in a Hollywood film, especially one
dealing with terrorism.
What Doesn’t: For most of the film, The
Kingdom only scratches the surface of the issues of terrorism and
the consequences of retaliation. The film strives for the kind of
complexity featured in Spielberg's Munich,
but the story is so limited in its scope that it is unable to accomplish
that.
Bottom Line: The Kingdom is an
exceptional film. Its action scenes are on par with the best action
elements of the genre and the substance of the film gives the audiences
more to chew on than other films of its kind. Although it cannot reach
the heights of Munich, it certainly comes close and at least
equals films like Clear
and Present Danger.
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Kingdom
of Heaven
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Premise: Orlando Bloom
plays a Christian knight charged with protecting Jerusalem from Muslim
invaders during the Crusades.
What Works: This is a
very topical film, full of ideas about religion and war. The film is not
anti-Christian or anti-Muslim but shows how the hierarchy of religion,
mixed with government, may be used to perpetuate and justify war. Ridley
Scott uses many of the same cinematic techniques he employed in Gladiator
but in comparison to the sword and sandal films in the past year, Kingdom
of Heaven shows a lot more craft in its structure, editing, and
cinematography. There is a wonderful performance of Ghassan Massoud as
Saladin. In a small amount of screen time he brings a dignity and and a
complexity to the role that flies in the face of most portrayals of
Middle Eastern characters.
What Doesn’t: Kingdom
of Heaven's character development is rather thin, especially in the
supporting cast. The film may be confusing to those who are not familiar
with the history and politics of the Crusades, although the drama within
the film is laid out well enough.
Bottom Line: While it is
not as good as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven is above
average as an action film and as an epic. The action sequences are
satisfying and the romance is there, but the film goes beyond the
conventions of its genre with its intellectual ideas.
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Kingdom
of Heaven: Director’s Cut
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Premise: This is a new
cut of Ridley Scott’s 2005 film. Balien (Orlando Bloom) is a
disillusioned Christian knight charged with protecting Jerusalem from
Muslim invaders during the Crusades of the 12th century. This
version adds fifty minutes of footage to the film.
What Works: The original
cut of Kingdom of Heaven was a solid film but lacked a lot of
character development and in moments it took great leaps forward in the
storytelling that were jarring. This new version mends all the major
problems, such as Balien’s growth as a leader and a soldier, and
provides a wealth of texture to the film. The added sequences provide
the film with some much deeper moments both for the political story and
for the stories of the individual characters. The characterizations are
much richer in this version, especially for Princess Sibylla (Eva
Green), who is now able to rise above her stereotypical role and become
a fuller character. Added to Kingdom of Heaven is an entire
subplot involving the son of Sibylla and his brief reign on the throne
of Jerusalem after the death of King Baldwin (Edward Norton). David
Thewlis’ performance is also given a reprieve in this version, and he
comes off not merely as a Yoda-like mentor but as the conscience of film
and he is given room to advance much more complex ideas. One of the
biggest faults of the theatrical cut was the love story between Sibylla
and Balien and Balien’s inexplicable refusal to kill Guy de Lusignan (Marton
Csokas) in order to marry Sibylla. The added footage makes all of this
much more coherent, and it is clear what kind of film Scott was trying
to make: this is a film about integrity and courage and it sets these
values against the political backstabbing, corruption, and religious
conflict of the Crusades to link these ideas to our contemporary age.
What Doesn’t: The only
new addition to Kingdom of Heaven that feels out of place is an
extra confrontation between Balien and Guy. It’s a great fight but
coming on the heels of the thirty-minute siege on Jerusalem and the
peaceful resolution of that conflict, the scene feels tagged on, but it
does resolve the Balien-Guy storyline.
DVD extras: The film is
spread across two discs with three commentary tracks and an engineers
guide to the war machines of the time period. Two discs of extras
include trailers, poster art, storyboards, The Path to Redemption
documentary on the making of the film, and additional featurettes. These
documents catalogue the making of the epic from its initial conception
with director Scott and screenwriter William Monahan through the
production, to the editing and re-editing by Dody Dorn. The extras deal
very thoroughly with the process of adapting history to the screen and
are surprisingly candid about the shortcomings of the compromised
theatrical cut.
Bottom Line: The original
cut of Kingdom of Heaven was a slightly above average sword and
shield epic. This version elevates the picture above anything recent in
the genre, even Braveheart
and Gladiator,
and sets it alongside such greats as Lawrence
of Arabia and Ben-Hur.
In some ways, Kingdom of Heaven exceeds those films, and stands
as only as one of the great Hollywood epics, but as one of the greatest
Hollywood films ever made.
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Kinsey
Directed by: Bill Condon
Premise: A biopic of
biologist Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson) who did pioneering research in
human sexuality.
What Works: The film
conveys Kinsey’s struggles both personally and professionally. Liam
Neeson gives a very strong performance in a very complex role, and
complements the film’s script, which interweaves Kinsey’s personal
and professional life. Laura Linney also gives a very strong performance
as Kinsey’s wife. There are some harrowing moments in the beginning of
their marriage and the two actors really shine in these scenes. The
picture deals with mature subject matter but treats it with respect and
this makes the film’s content and Kinsey’s arguments much more
respectable and interesting.
What Doesn’t: While
giving airtime to Kinsey’s arguments about sexuality and society, the
film runs the risk of becoming too didactic and in the middle it loses
some of the narrative strength. It recovers most of this in the third
act, although the resolution is somewhat unclear.
DVD extras: Commentary
track, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag real.
Bottom Line: Kinsey
is an important film that is likely to provoke the viewer with ideas
about sexuality and the human animal. While it runs the risk of becoming
too expository, the film’s subject matter demands this kind of
presentation.
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Kiss
Kiss, Bang Bang
Directed by: Shane Black
Premise: Robert Downey
Jr. plays a burglar-turned actor who is paired with a struggling actress
(Michelle Monaghan) and a private detective (Val Kilmer) after he gets
involved in a murder mystery.
What Works: This is
familiar territory for writer and director Shane Black, whose
filmography also includes the original Lethal
Weapon, The
Last Boy Scout, and The
Long Kiss Goodnight. This film allows him to push the
characters, the storytelling, and the action genre in bold new
directions as he plays with the form. The film takes a lot of risks,
using a lot of voice over, jumping back and forth on the timeline, and
crossing the action and hardboiled crime drama. Kiss Kiss pays
homage to crime dramas but pushes out into new areas with humor and with
characters who are frail and authentic, if a bit over the top.
What Doesn’t: The film
is bold at jerking its audience from place to place and for some viewers
it is going to be too much.
DVD extras: Commentary
track and a gag real.
Bottom Line: Although
metatextual references have been hip in the past few years, Kiss
Kiss, Bang Bang does a standout job of taking the right elements of
these genres to create a post-modern action comedy. It is a film that
did not get much attention in theaters but is worth a look for fans of
any of these kinds of films.
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The
Kite Runner
Directed by: Marc Forster
Premise: Amir (Khalid Abdalla),
an author living in America, recalls his childhood growing up in
Afghanistan and his relationship to childhood friend Hassan (Ahmad Khan
Mahmidzada). As an adult, Amir returns to Taliban controlled Afghanistan
to aid Hassan's son (Ali Dinesh).
What Works: The Kite
Runner is a great example of cinematic storytelling. The structure
of the story is complex but it manages to maneuver around the timeline
with complete coherence and use the juxtaposition of the past and the
present to make the connections between plot points even stronger than
if the story was told in a linear fashion. The film provides insight
into the saga of Afghani people and it includes the vital component that
Charlie
Wilson’s War missed, the contrast in the country's culture
before and after the Soviet invasion. The Kite Runner has the
distinction of being a film about the Afghani people, as it gives the
culture a chance to speak for itself rather than be sifted through a
Western lens, but it is also distinctly an American story, as an
immigrant comes to terms with his new dual identity. This is nicely done
in Amir's relationship with Soraya (Atossa Leoni), another Middle
Eastern immigrant who Amir eventually marries. The process of their
courtship is sweet and walks the line between West and Middle East. There
is a tradition for this kind of immigrant narrative in American
storytelling and The Kite Runner, like its main characters, is a
hybrid that retains the traditions and dignity of the Afghan culture
while embracing Western sensibilities.
What Doesn't: Amir's harsh
treatment of Hassan is difficult to understand at first and it threatens
to make Amir so unsympathetic that the character might never recover in
the eyes of the audience. Also, those who do not know anything about the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan might be lost.
Bottom Line: The Kite
Runner is a film that represents a cultural dialogue between the
West and the Middle East and the story provides a chance for redemption,
reconciliation, and new beginnings.
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Knocked
Up
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Premise: After a one-night stand between
Ben, a dope smoking loafer (Seth Rogan), and Alison, a career woman on
her way up (Katherine Heigl), results in a pregnancy, the two attempt to
reconcile their lifestyles and come to terms with impending parenthood.
What Works: Knocked Up is very funny
and a step up from Apatow’s last film, The 40 Year Old Virgin.
Like that film, Knocked Up is consistently funny and mixes dirty
humor with very sweet, good-hearted intentions. In all areas, Knocked
Up succeeds The
40 Year Old Virgin and it is a much more mature and much more
enjoyable to watch. It demonstrates command of a basic rule of comedy
writing that is often forgotten, that the most successful comedies have
strong and coherent dramatic centers. Knocked Up has some
exceptional character writing and lets its actors run with the material,
allowing them to laugh and to cry, and that variety of emotion sells the
movie. Both lead actors are very good and give performances that are
appealing and engaging. The relationship between Ben and Alison has a
lot of reality to it, especially as they go ahead with their
relationship after discovering the pregnancy. Likewise, the relationship
between Alison’s sister and brother in law (Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd)
is also conveyed very convincingly and the interrelationship between the
two couples allows for a lot of complications in the drama and new
opportunities for humor. Along the way, the characters confront a lot of
the issues involved in pregnancy, contemporary romance, and burgeoning
adulthood and Knocked Up actually has something to say about
these subjects, allowing them to play out in the drama.
What Doesn’t: Harold Ramis appears in
what amounts to a cameo as Ben’s father. He is great in the role and
the only disappointment in the film is that there was not more
interaction between the two characters. Also, the film is not as laugh
out loud funny as some might expect from the creator of The 40 Year
Old Virgin, but that is because this film relies less on gags and
more on situational and dialogue humor.
Bottom Line: Knocked Up is a very
good film. Like the original American
Pie, the picture is able to take on the subject of sexuality in
contemporary life and really do something with it while having a few
laughs along the way.
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Kung
Fu Hustle
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Premise: In 1940s China,
the Axe Gang tries to take over a small housing development defended by
a group of superhuman kung fu masters.
What Works: The film is a
lot of fun. It is a mix between the western, gangster films, traditional
kung fu films, and Roadrunner cartoons. The combination actually works
very well because it allows the filmmakers to present the audience with
something they have not seen before, or at least have not seen in this
way. The film’s familiar storyline is complemented by off the wall
characters and a lot of over the top humor that is genuinely funny and
not cynical.
What Doesn’t: Although
it is fun, Kung Fu Hustle is not going to win any awards for its
story. The narrative is a mix of kung fu action with familiar genre
staples. The combination works well enough, but the film could have been
so much more if it had a meaningful story.
Bottom Line: Kung Fu
Hustle is a film for fans of adult cartoons and martial arts films.
It is silly but makes for good fun.
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Kung
Fu Panda
Directed by: Mark Osborne and John
Stevenson
Premise: An animated film in which a
cherubic Panda (voiced by Jack Black) is named the new apprentice to the
local kung fu master (voiced by Dustin Hoffman). When the master’s
arch nemesis returns, the Panda is the only hope of the local
townspeople.
What Works: Kung Fu Panda is a
terrific piece of animation. The quality of the animation is as high as
anything in Toy
Story or Ratatouille,
especially in capturing the subtleties of the characters. As a martial
arts film, Kung Fu Panda uses animation and traditional martial
arts visuals effectively, combining quick edits and slow motion
cinematography with physical comedy. This is done especially well in a
dumpling fight during Po’s training that is a winning combination of The
Matrix and The
Three Stooges. The story of Kung Fu Panda distinguishes
itself through some superior character writing, especially for Dustin
Hoffman as Master Shifu and Ian McShane as villain Tai Lung. In the
little bit of screen time given to McShane’s character, the story is
able to give the film necessary gravitas to carry it through to the end.
Jack Black uses his lovable loser persona in the role of Po the Panda,
focusing his dry, awkward shtick through a family-friendly lens. The
physical comedy and Black’s voice over work combines with some very
subtle but effective animation, and the result is one of Black’s best
performances since School
of Rock.
What Doesn’t: Like a lot of animated
films, the story has a strict adherence to formula. Despite some
interesting characters, a lot of their relationships and story functions
are fairly stock genre conventions.
Bottom Line: Kung Fu Panda is an
enjoyable piece of animation with some great character touches. It does
not do much that is new, but what it does do, it accomplishes very well.
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